


clueless.

by thiyaksokhae



Series: this christmas, i'll give you a smile [3]
Category: GOT7
Genre: Confessions, Fluff, M/M, Power Outage, barely any angst i swear, blink and miss mention of 2jae, huehuehue, the others are there too but not important
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-24
Updated: 2017-12-24
Packaged: 2019-02-19 11:41:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,691
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13123005
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thiyaksokhae/pseuds/thiyaksokhae
Summary: the one where something about being cramped together in a sound booth during a power outage brought all the feelings out.





	clueless.

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Hmd220](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Hmd220/gifts).



> for hannah, who has been through so much and is going through so much, but is still staying strong. you are an amazing person and i love you so much and i hope you know that. i hope we can smile more soon <3

Mark is  _ not  _ having a good day.

 

It’s one of those days again, when things seem just the slightest bit out of place, not noticeable to anyone else, but greatly magnified to the person who does notice. Like a puzzle piece in the wrong position, like a paint stroke of a shade lighter, like an itch you can’t get rid of, it’s something small that’s just setting everything off, and Mark is a hundred percent done with this day, and all he wants to do is get back to the dorm and sleep, hopefully to wake up to a better tomorrow.

 

But there’s one thing that he has left on his schedule, and fighting off a slight headache caused from having not eaten anything for quite a few hours, Mark makes his way to the recording studio on the second floor. The release of their next album is not for another month, but  _ someone _ got their song done early and so everyone was called in turns to record their parts.

 

Mark generally likes going last, but this time he’s not pleased, because it’s too late in the day for him to be happy or enthusiastic. He’s generally pretty bubbly at recordings. However, he’s still going with a Must Not Disappoint attitude, a part of his personality that makes its appearance during recordings, concerts and fanmeetings.

 

And besides, the person who is going to be supervising the recording—since it is his song after all—is not one who likes to be disappointed, but is also someone very easy to disappoint, a side effect of having high expectations. Even generally, Mark doesn’t like disappointing this very person.

 

He crosses paths with Jaebum, who’s exiting the recording studio with a harassed look on his face. Mark grimaces. “That bad?”

 

“He’s being himself,” grumbles Jaebum, which translates to  _ yes, he is being the dictatorial perfectionist that he is when it comes to his songs.  _ Mark subconsciously prepares for the worst, pushing the door open with a tentative smile on his face, hoping that it’ll have some effect.

 

Jinyoung is midway through a conversation with his fellow producer, a sweet noona who Mark knows as the one who likes to call Youngjae her favourite, when Mark walks in. Jinyoung cuts his words off halfway, his frown smoothening out to a small smile nearly mirroring Mark's. It makes Mark breathe a little easier. 

 

“Bad day?” mouths Jinyoung, while Mark is receiving a quick summary of the usual instructions that he's only heard about a million times. Mark shrugs almost imperceptibly in response, knowing that Jinyoung will ask him about this later anyway, and makes his way to the sound booth, adjusting the mic slightly. His eyes fall on the lyric sheet in front of him.

 

Not bad. He has a whole verse this time, and he smiles a bit at that, even though that just means that this session is going to drag on a little longer. He puts on his headphones, one ear on and one ear off, nodding when Jinyoung asks if he's ready. “Born ready, baby,” he jokes.

 

The producer noona laughs a bit at that, and Mark can hear Jinyoung's dismissive “He's a dork, ignore him,” and short laugh following that because being someone with an amazing memory, Jinyoung didn't turn off their mic, which Mark points out in an teasingly offended tone.

 

He feels a bit lighter at the playful exchange, so he thinks he can survive this. Jinyoung smiles over at him over the controls, and Mark’s heart skips a beat like it just hit a bump in the road. Jinyoung's smile always makes things a little better. Mark loves it. More than he can say.

 

“Okay, are you ready for real?” asks Jinyoung, and Mark nods. The music begins flowing in through the headphones, and Mark bops his head to it, appreciating it. It's very Jinyoung, no doubt there. The chorus falls right before Mark's part, and the very last strains of Youngjae's voice are fading away and Jinyoung signals at Mark to begin.

 

He gets nearly a line in when Jinyoung pauses the music, stepping in to correct Mark's pronunciation. Mark nods, trying his best to correct it and reminding himself that this is exactly the way that Jinyoung is, but that doesn't stop the slightest bit of frustration from trickling in when Jinyoung steps in to correct Mark for the seventh time. It hasn't even been two lines yet.

 

And the frustration doesn't help in any way, for it just causes Mark to slip up more, and he can tell you it's definitely getting to Jinyoung as well. Jinyoung is known to be notoriously partial and patient towards Mark (That's what the maknaes claim—well, Yugyeom mostly, but who can blame him? Compared to him, Jinyoung's partial to everyone else.) but that patience is steadily running out, and at the fifteenth time that he's stopped, Mark can't help but helplessly whisper to himself, “I can't do this.”

 

Mark stares at the ground, waiting for them to start the music again, going through all the corrections in his head, but the music doesn't start. He looks up with tired eyes and watches Jinyoung have a serious exchange with the producer noona. He can't hear anything because the glass separating him from them is soundproof, but he can see the producer noona shrug and give Jinyoung a thumbs-up, getting up as though to leave. Then she places a hand on Jinyoung's shoulder as though unsure, but nods and leaves when he seems to say some kind of confirmatory phrase.

 

Jinyoung's voice filters in through Mark's headphones. “Just me now. Wanna give it one more shot?”

 

“Yeah, okay,” responds Mark quietly, eyes trained on the floor. He can't look up at Jinyoung and risk giving away the fact that he knows that he's somehow going to screw up this time as well.

 

“I believe in you.” There's a softness to Jinyoung's voice, something that makes Mark want to look up and give him a smile and promise to do well, but he can't.

 

The music starts again, and this time it's rewinded back more than the previous few times. Mark's caught off guard for a couple seconds, but he figures that Jinyoung did that to allow him a bit of time to compose himself. That's when he looks up and realizes that Jinyoung isn't sitting behind the controls, and nearly has a heart attack. Has he been left alone? What the fuck?

 

Then he hears a footfall behind him and realizes that as of that very instant, Jinyoung's right next to him, in the sound booth. Before he can wonder what the absolute fuck Jinyoung is attempting, he feels a pair of arms wrap around his middle, a soft whisper, barely audible, fluttering over his ear that is uncovered by the headphone, “Just breathe.”

 

Oh great. Youngjae's part just started. Mark rushes to steady his breath. He places his hand on Jinyoung's arm for reassurance, earning a small squeeze in response. He takes a deep breath, emptying his mind, and then he begins to rap.

 

Line one. He starts off strong, his accented English flowing quick to the Korean words. Line two. He slips up the slightest but doesn't let it bother him, because it's not something even Jinyoung would count, so it ceases to be categorised as a mistake. Line three. He's still doing good. He's getting there. Line four. The finish line has been spotted. It'd be awful to mess up now, so that's why he tries his best to not do that.

 

And that's it. He made it.

 

Just as the last syllable leaves his mouth, his instinct to let out a victorious whoop makes its appearance, only to recede suddenly as the power blows, engulfing them in darkness. Power cuts are a rarity at the company, but when they do happen, they take more than a few minutes to fix.

 

“Shit,” curses Mark, and turns to ask Jinyoung, who's placed his head on Mark's shoulder like it's His Place, “Will we have to record again tomorrow?”

 

“Nah, the system has auto-backup,” assures Jinyoung. “Don't worry.”

 

A silence. Mark blinks a few times and realizes that he can't distinguish between when his eyes are closed and when they're open because the world looks the exact same way both times.

 

“You did well,” whispers Jinyoung, effectively breaking the silence but still not breaking his hold around Mark.

 

“Thanks,” whispers back Mark, not really getting why they’re whispering, because they’re literally in a soundproof chamber, but the whispers sound amplified in the silence, and Mark’s worried that his heartbeat might actually sound louder than he thinks, and it’s too loud in his head already. He turns to Jinyoung, or in the vague direction where he guesses that Jinyoung’s face is, which isn’t hard to do since they’re literally stuck together. Jinyoung loosens his grip slightly so that Mark can turn fully in his arms in the cramped space that they have. “Means a lot coming from you.”

 

“Why would that be?” asks Jinyoung, his breath fluttering over Mark’s lips. Oh. So that’s how close they actually are. Mark’s hands, initially placed on Jinyoung’s waist, find their way up to Jinyoung’s face. He can feel Jinyoung’s facial features move under his fingertips as Jinyoung goes on, “I’m just another band member of yours. You’ve got five more.”

 

“You’re—” Mark doesn’t know how to complete the sentence.  _ You’re not just another band member. You’re so much more than you think you are to me. You’re annoying and make my heart flutter, dangerously, and I’m powerless against it. Who the fuck even allowed you to do that? Why are all these thoughts suddenly in my head right now? I thought I’d put them away. Now look what you did, Park Jinyoung… _ “You’re more than that.”

 

“Yeah?” asks Jinyoung, but he sounds unsure, but he also sounds serious. His cheeks feel warm to Mark’s touch. He leans forward slightly so that his forehead rests against Mark’s, causing Mark’s breath to catch in his throat. Mark thinks that he should probably pull away, before things get too messed up, before either of them does something they both will regret, but he can’t. If Jinyoung’s will is strong as iron (Or at least, that’s what Jackson says when he’s trying to get Jinyoung to be nice to him.) then Mark is a magnet, drawn to him without option, without say, without choice. It’s too bad he enjoys it this much.

 

“Yeah,” breathes Mark, his thumbs tracing a line across Jinyoung’s cheekbones. Something about the darkness makes it feel right, as opposed to the fact that if the current had never gone off, Jinyoung and Mark would be on opposite sides of the glass right now, Mark leaving after Jinyoung assured him that the file was saved. This is a spectacularly horrifying turn of events, and Mark’s both dying inside and as well as wanting to burst into rainbows.

 

Jinyoung leans against Mark a little more, and Mark lets his eyes fall shut, not that it makes a difference in the absence of light anyway. “Maybe you’re more than that to me too,” murmurs Jinyoung almost inaudibly, and Mark’s heart beats even faster, if that’s possible.

 

Mark’s hand finds its way to Jinyoung’s chin, cupping it with a small unseeable smile on his face. It’s coming. The thing he’s going to regret for a long-ass while is going to happen soon, and he’s given up on making any attempt to stop it.

 

Only Jinyoung acts first, pressing his lips against Mark’s in a bruising kiss, and Mark all but melts. His hand moves to the back of Jinyoung’s neck, and keeps the other close, not wanting to break this kiss. Jinyoung seems in no hurry to pull away either, moving his pleasantly soft, peach-tinted lips (Unbelievable, the boy uses lip balm that syncs with his nickname.) slowly against Mark’s, his hand fisted in the material of Mark’s shirt.

 

So it’s true. If you wish for something enough, it will come true. But that doesn’t necessarily mean that what follows will bode well for the situation, as Mark quickly discovered in the short seconds that follow—a time that will, for years to follow, remain so vivid and yet so blurred.

 

Mark’s nearly breathless when suddenly all the lights flick on, a burst of light that nearly blinds him because he’s gotten used to the dark now. And he wants the dark back, now that they’ve suddenly broken apart completely and staring at each other with identical terrified and disbelieving gazes. Jinyoung raises one hand to touch his lips, which are looking pinker and plusher than they normally should.

 

And that’s when it all sinks in and an overwhelming feeling begins to take Mark over, panic and shock closing up his throat as he shakes his head to clear it. A faint drumming is filling Mark’s blank mind, and he shakes his head, as though to say  _ this cannot be happening. Tell me that did not happen. But let that have happened. Don’t tell me that didn’t happen. _

 

An anticipation hangs in the air. Someone has to do something. That’s when Jinyoung says sorry, turns on his heel, and walks away.

 

What’s that feeling? Ah, expected.

 

Yup, there’s the regret.

  
  


=

  
  


Regret turns to anger—cold, hard anger. Why would Jinyoung even kiss him if he was going to run away like that? Mark can’t stop the livid thoughts, that come wave after wave after wave, causing a deep crease between his eyebrows. Was this some kind of stupid joke? Was this some bad idea that died after the kiss happened? Did Jinyoung even like him? And if he did, how? Why? What? No, Mark just can’t process anything right now.

 

Dammit, Park Jinyoung.

  
  


=

  
  


It’s nearly twelve o’clock when Jinyoung walks by to turn off the light in Mark’s room, like he does every night. Mark’s sitting on his bed, eyes fixed on his phone. Jinyoung pauses for a couple seconds, waiting for Mark to say something, look up, give some kind of indication that he knows that he’s standing there.

 

Nothing.

 

Finally, “We’re not talking about it,” is a sullen statement, made without even looking up.

 

Jinyoung purses his lips together, suppressing a bunch of emotions that are threatening to burst out of his lungs. He nods. “Okay.”

 

He can take a hint.

  
  


=

  
  


“You’re being stupid, y’know?”

 

Mark looks away from his wistful line of sight that ends where Jinyoung is sitting, turning to the person who spoke. Yugyeom gives him an annoyed look.

 

Mark sticks his tongue out childishly. “What do you know, Gyeomie?”

 

“A lot,” says the younger enigmatically. “I know that you’ve been trying to hide your very delicate feelings for Jinyoung hyung and something happened a few days ago and suddenly you two aren’t talking.” A smug grin settles on his lips.

 

“And how do you know that?” asks Mark tonelessly, trying to betray no emotion whatsoever.

 

“I can read your aura. I’m basically related to you. Kim Mark and Yugyeom Tuan, y’know?” grins Yugyeom, poking Mark in the ribs. Mark makes a mental note to try and get Yugyeom to stop saying  _ y’know _ . “Okay, I’m kidding. Jinyoung hyung was very vague when he ranted to Jaebum hyung who was anything but vague when he ranted to Youngjae hyung about Jinyoung hyung’s vagueness and Youngjae hyung is always super vague when he talks about the hyungs’ gossip with me and Bammie, but we’re smart enough to figure shit out. So, yeah.”

 

Mark takes a moment to process that. He makes another mental note to tell Jaebum that Youngjae does not get special privilege from him like what the hell this is not fair you don’t even tell me this much and no I don’t care if you like him so much—

 

“Hey, you’re zoning out,” says Yugyeom, waving a hand in Mark’s face. Mark falls back to earth with an annoyed bump. “You gonna do something?”

 

Mark looks over at Jinyoung, who catches his eye for an instant before turning away. Feels like a proper conversation might just be in order.

  
  


=

  
  


It’s nearly twelve o’clock when Mark gets up to turn off his own light. He hasn’t seen Jinyoung at his door with his special, caring smile in a week now, and he decides he can’t take it anymore. He walks to Jinyoung’s room and hovers by the slightly ajar door for a few seconds, having an internal debate, before nodding firmly and walking into the room. 

 

Well, not really walking in. More like casually loitering by the door until Jinyoung looks up from his book, his adorable glasses slipping down his nose and then looks back at the book, saying, “I thought we weren’t talking.”

 

“And evidently, that’s not how friendships work,” retorts Mark. Ouch. He just painfully friendzoned his own crush. But at this point, there’s no other label in use, so Mark will use what he has. “Can I come in?”

 

Jinyoung looks at him for a long moment before letting out a short sigh. “Sure.” He puts his book by his bedside table and moves over to make space for Mark on his bed.

 

Mark sits on the bed, feeling a bit at home. Generally Jaebum kicks him out of his own bed, saying that he finds Mark’s more comfortable, and when that happens, Mark comes and sleeps in Jinyoung’s room, because the younger is one of the best cuddlers ever and doesn’t mind when Mark gets clingy. He’s missed doing that in the last few days.

 

“I’m sorry,” says Jinyoung plainly. Mark opens his mouth, about to say something when Jinyoung cuts him off, plowing on, “No, listen, I’m sorry. We were fine as friends and I guess I got a little selfish and whatever happened happened and I’m sorry I ruined everything between us.” His words come out all smushed against each other, and he takes a second to catch his breath.

 

“I’m not blameless here,” Mark says, shaking his head to make a point. “I made my mistakes as well. Don’t apologize.”

 

An awkward silence hangs in the air, before Jinyoung finally decides to say something. “I just have a question,” he starts softly, not meeting Mark’s eyes. “The kiss. Was it bad?”

 

Was it bad? That’s a very good question. Mark has a lot of adjectives and phrases to associate with that kiss—spectacular, phenomenal, mind-blowing, staggering, best thing that ever happened, how are his lips so soft, and why is Park Jinyoung such a good kisser to be a few examples—but bad doesn’t seem to be one of them.

 

“No. No, it wasn’t.”

 

“It wasn’t?” Jinyoung’s smile turns a precious combination of relieved and embarrassed, cheeks flooded with a punchy red color and Mark’s heart does that stupid skipping a beat thing again. He’s been dealing with this for so long, he’s worried for his heart.

 

“Nah, it wasn’t,” grins Mark shyly. “I’d do it again.” Oh wait. He was probably not supposed to say that.

 

Jinyoung’s eyes widen, and he looks away, a painful smile on his face. Mark has known Jinyoung for too long to know the meaning behind that expression.  _ You just caused my feelings to toss off a cliff and now I am mad at you. _ This smile has been used on various occasions, in different scenarios, but each time the one thing that was sure was that Jinyoung was hurting inside.

 

“I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have said that,” apologizes Mark, beating himself up internally. Stupid, stupid, stupid.

 

“No. You didn’t mean it, so it doesn’t matter.”

 

There’s a effort put into getting those words out, and finally Mark understands that Jinyoung…  _ wants  _ him to mean that? No way. He asks the same, trepidation pulsing through his veins.

 

Jinyoung shakes his head. “Forget it.”

 

“No, I’m not doing that. I need a straight answer,” insists Mark, poking Jinyoung’s shoulder.

 

“If you looking for straight answers, I’m afraid my answer will be anything but.” Jinyoung attempts a laugh.

 

Mark shakes his head. “Did you just—”

 

Jinyoung’s giggling now. “Yeah, I just did.”

 

Mark starts laughing, letting out one caged emotion after another. “You dork, you did not.”

 

Jinyoung smiles sheepishly until Mark stops laughing, and they both look at each other with goofy grins, the last traces of tension fading from the space between them. “You know, friends don’t kiss each other,” informs Mark seriously.

 

Jinyoung diverts his eyes. “Yeah, I know.”

 

“What if we weren’t friends?” asks Mark, his heart in his throat. If Jinyoung says that it’s a bad idea, then his whole world might just come crashing down. But Mark is smart enough to know at this point of the conversation that the chances of a no are a little less than nonexistent.

 

A corner of Jinyoung’s mouth quirks upwards as his fingers play with the hem of his shirt. “That way we wouldn’t be breaking any rules, right?”

 

“Yeah,” grins Mark. Jinyoung smiles, finally looking him properly in the eye, and Mark leans over and places a soft kiss on Jinyoung’s lips. “As long as I can be honest here,”—Oh god, here come the feelings, he thinks—“I really, really like you, Jinyoung. More than I have words to express. I don’t want to be your friend. I’d like to be your”—he turns red just getting the word out—“boyfriend.”

 

“Who knew you’d turn out to be such a sap?” teases Jinyoung, wrapping his arm around Mark and pulling him closer. “I like you too, you sentimental idiot.” He rests his cheek against Mark’s head. “Yeah, and maybe I’d like to be your boyfriend too.”

 

“So, Not Friends?”

 

“Not Friends.”

 

They look at each other and start giggling.

 

“I can’t believe you were so clueless, though,” comments Jinyoung. “I thought I was being way too obvious.”

 

“Me? Clueless? Nah, that was you,” smirks Mark, shoving Jinyoung’s chest playfully.

 

“Looks like we’re the Clueless Couple,” quipps Jinyoung with a twinkle in his eye.

 

Mark decides he likes the term. And they’re going to keep it.

  
  


=

**Author's Note:**

> i think either you or laura mentioned the "Clueless Couple" nickname in one of the replies to one of my comments on UM haha and that's why this was written ^^


End file.
